The statement published here marks a major advance in the ecumenical journey. The result of a fifty-year process of study and consultation, this text on baptism, Eucharist and ministry represents the theological convergence that has been achieved, through decades of dialogue, . under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Over one hundred theologians met in Lima, Peru, in January 1982, and recommended unanimously to transmit this agreed statement - the Lima text - for the common study and official response of the churches